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Taiwan Health Minister Blames Hospital's Fame for ER Overcrowding Crisis

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • Taiwan's National Taiwan University Hospital faces severe emergency room overcrowding, with one patient waiting 12 days for a bed before passing away.
  • The Minister of Health and Welfare attributes the congestion to the hospital's high reputation, leading to an overwhelming patient volume.
  • Measures being considered include reducing patient load, improving referral systems, and optimizing internal bed allocation, alongside strengthening cooperation with Taipei City Hospital.

National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital is grappling with severe overcrowding in its emergency department, a situation highlighted by the tragic case of an 85-year-old woman who died after waiting 12 days for a hospital bed due to an infection. Reports from within the hospital also indicate another patient waited an astonishing 35 days in the emergency holding area.

NTU Hospital's original sin is precisely that it is too famous; there are simply too many patients.

— Shih Chung-liangThe Minister of Health and Welfare explaining the root cause of the emergency room congestion at National Taiwan University Hospital.

Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang stated that among the nine major medical centers in the Taipei region, NTU Hospital is currently the most congested. The hospital's emergency department sees over 300 patients daily, a significant increase from previous years. Shih attributed this crisis to the hospital's "original sin" of being too famous, resulting in an unmanageable influx of patients.

To address the issue, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to discuss improvement strategies with NTU Hospital President Yu Chung-jen. Potential solutions include enhancing patient monitoring for those with extended emergency room stays, with vice presidents coordinating hospital admissions. The hospital is also establishing additional post-emergency care wards for patients with cross-departmental needs, such as the 85-year-old patient who required care from internal medicine, surgery, and other specialties.

Among the nine major medical centers in the Taipei region, only NTU Hospital is currently experiencing significant congestion.

— Shih Chung-liangProviding a comparative overview of emergency room capacity among major hospitals in Taipei.

Furthermore, NTU Hospital aims to strengthen its collaboration with Taipei City Hospital to implement a tiered medical system. Shih emphasized that if all patients flock to NTU, even more beds would be insufficient. He advocated for directing genuine critical cases to NTU while coordinating the transfer of less severe patients to city hospitals, which still have available bed capacity. The ministry is considering incentives, such as subsidizing ambulance fees, to encourage patient transfers and overcome the public's misconception that city hospitals are inferior to major medical centers.

If all patients crowd into NTU Hospital, no amount of beds will be enough; we must still implement a tiered medical system.

— Shih Chung-liangHighlighting the necessity of a referral system to manage patient flow effectively.

Shih expressed disbelief at the 35-day wait, calling it "difficult to understand" and questioning why patients would choose to wait so long in the ER rather than transfer. He stressed that improving bed turnover rates, potentially through incentives for shorter hospital stays, is crucial. The ministry will continue discussions with hospital leadership and the Taipei City Department of Health to find ways to alleviate the emergency room congestion and encourage patient referrals.

I find a 35-day wait truly difficult to comprehend.

— Shih Chung-liangExpressing astonishment at the prolonged waiting time reported in the emergency department.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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